'Ketamine Queen' at Center of Matthew Perry Case Just Agreed to Take a Plea Deal By Nicole Acosta 39

A woman accused of having distributed the ketamine that killed Matthew Perry in October 2023 has agreed to a plea deal, federal prosecutors announced.

Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” by federal prosecutors, will plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release on Monday, Aug. 18.

A dual citizen of the U.S. and the U.K., Sangha has been in federal custody since August 2024. The 42-year-old is expected to formally enter a guilty plea in the coming weeks, avoiding a scheduled trial, prosecutors said. Sangha is the fifth and last defendant to have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty in connection with the actor’s overdose death. She could face decades in federal prison.

Related Stories

5 People Are Facing Charges Related to Matthew Perry’s Death. What to Know About Their Alleged Involvement and Possible Penalties

What Was Matthew Perry’s Cause of Death? Inside the Beloved Actor’s Final Hours — and His Harrowing Alleged Last Words

Prosecutors said Sangha distributed drugs to Erik Fleming, who is an acquaintance of Perry’s, who in turn distributed them to Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. According to prosecutors, Fleming was an intermediary between Sangha and Iwamasa.

Fleming obtained 50 vials from Sangha, the justice department said, and then distributed them to Perry’s assistant, who admitted to “repeatedly” injecting the actor, per an indictment previously reviewed by PEOPLE. The indictment stated that Sangha allowed Fleming to take a sample for Perry to try.

On Oct. 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which caused Perry’s death, per the plea agreement cited by prosecutors.

“After learning from news reports of Perry’s death, Sangha called Fleming on Signal to discuss how to distance themselves from it,” the press release states. “That day, Sangha updated the settings on the Signal apps to automatically delete her messages with Fleming. She further instructed Fleming to ‘Delete all our messages.'”

Perry was found floating face down in his jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home that night. An autopsy later showed Perry died from acute effects of ketamine, in addition to other contributing factors such as drowning, coronary artery disease and effects from buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. The Friends star was 54.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.  

Prosecutors said Sangha, who operated a stash house in North Hollywood, also admitted to possessing with intent to distribute various drugs, many of which were recovered during a March 2023 raid of the home.

“She further admitted to using her North Hollywood residence to store, package, and distribute narcotics, including ketamine and methamphetamine, since at least June 2019,” the release states.

The other four defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death include Iwamasa and Fleming, as well as doctors Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia. They will be sentenced in the coming weeks.

Additionally, Sangha admitted to selling four vials of ketamine to Cody McLaury, a separate victim, in August 2019. McLaury died hours later from a drug overdose.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.